One of the most common procedures performed in a research or clinical laboratory is the centrifugation of a sample. Centrifuge tubes are well known in the art and exist in a variety of shapes and sizes. The type of centrifuge tube used for a particular procedure depends on a variety of factors such as the size of the sample, the speed at which the sample is to be centrifuged, and the type of centrifuge rotor necessary for centrifugation. It is frequently necessary to use a centrifuge tube having a cap or cover to seal the sample within the tube to prevent spillage or contamination of the sample during the centrifugation process.
There are many occasions when the size of the sample to be centrifuged is very small. However, it is not always practical to use a very small centrifuge tube for such samples because of the relatively high pressure which results when a small tube is stoppered, which can expell the stopper or break the tub. Either situation is potentially hazardous, especially if the sample contains a dangerous substance which would contaminate the interior of the centrifuge, or if the breakup of a tube would cause the spinning centrifuge to become unbalanced, creating a dangerous situation for anyone near the unit. Therefore, it is usually necessary to use a centrifuge tube which has a sufficiently large capacity so that stoppering results in only a small pressure buildup.
However, using a relatively large centrifuge tube can be cumbersome, especially when working with samples on a microscale level. Therefore it would be desirable to have a microscale centrifuge tube which may be safely used without the dangers of pressure buildup during use.